Cascade of Nightmares
by Pizzadone
Summary: A new enemy is coming. It doesn't pose a threat now, but it will, and under the tutelage of a hideous master, it will destroy everything that Cappy Town worked so hard to recreate. Meta Knight must to kill it, like a serpent in its shell. But how can he kill the monster when it looks like his deepest fear and his closest ally? Rated T for violence. Based off of the English anime.
1. Violet Eyes

**Welcome to my first story! I will very rarely write introductions or endings like these, so do not fear. This is a story based off of the English anime, and it will be using English names. If you would like to see this story written with Japanese names, send me a PM and I will be glad to upload it using the Japanese-romanized jargon.**

**I do not own any of the characters that Nintendo and HAL have created. Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, Sir Ebrum, Lady Like, the various monsters, Customer Service, Escargoon, King Dedede, Meta Knight, N.M.E. and Tokkori are not mine, to name a few of them. The character created in this chapter was my own concept, though strongly based upon Meta Knight. I do not claim copyrights because of the similarities. Feel free to borrow this character at any time.  
**

**The cover image is the Meta Knight trophy from Smash Brothers Brawl. I did not draw it. Super Smash Brothers Brawl is copyright Nintendo.**

Without further ado, Cascade of Nightmares!

* * *

Meta Knight was worthless to him. N.M.E. couldn't bear to think about that failure. All it left was a shallow opportunity for personal amusement. So then... Why not make something better?

Yes. Something to destroy Meta Knight. That would suffice. He wasn't as powerful as he had been before the assault, but he might be able to pull something off. N.M.E. retreated to his dark lair, where the walls pulsed with discordant colors. They clashed and churned his stomach, precisely why he chose them. It brought fear and anger to the hearts of his visitors, without him so much as lifting a finger.

He tossed aside the pieces on his chessboard. He needed a clear workspace for the abomination he would create.

Ordinarily he went with the scientific method of demon creation, but if he wanted this demon to be good, he was going to have to do it the old fashioned way. He held his hands over the chessboard, planning the exact maneuvers before he employed them.

His hands followed deep, archetypal patterns that could never be expunged from his mind. Soon, a cylindrical block of matter appeared before him. It was rock hard and utterly impossible to crack or bend in any way, except by its creator.

N.M.E. hacked off the top and rounded it with his hands, and smoothed the bottom likewise, creating a sphere. The stuff felt like clay beneath his hands, molding and bending as his slightest touch. It began to develop a color, piercing cyan.

That wasn't right at all, demons were not blue. Demons needed to be red. N.M.E. gave the little orb a quick electric shock, modifying the color to blood red.

The change held briefly, then the orb reverted back. How peculiar. He wasn't back to his old self, but he knew he should have been able to force the color change upon the beast.

Shock, revert. Shock, revert. It refused to conform. N.M.E. decided to ignore this aesthetic quality of the demon beast, after all, color wasn't a priority.

Strength was. N.M.E. jabbed his index finger into the orb, and began to hollow out its inside. He left it very thick, but made sure it was thinner in places where its arms, wings, tail and legs would connect.

The remaining material was immediately twisted into thick muscle and fibrous tissues. The organs weren't exactly fun to make, but "fun" certainly wasn't N.M.E.'s priority, either.

He placed all of the systems inside the demon and began filling up the empty space with whatever he saw fit. Mostly it was muscle. Then it was time for the outer body.

N.M.E. didn't have to think long about his desired appearance. He wanted something that would come with a weapon attached, something that wouldn't come off and would grow as needed. He decided to make its arms longer than necessary, and he set two spikes upon its wrist.

He flattened and lengthened the spikes, which now nearly matched Kirisakin's blades, but still had a fist attached to them. The end result was like growing a blade out of one's arm, and was ultimately satisfying. Finally, N.M.E. attached the arms to the torso of his creation.

He scrapped his usual leg design, opting for speed over strength. The legs were canine, but fit well with the creature and ended in a clawed foot. There was no point to adding a blade there, but he still thought it needed something.

A little chain would be perfect. If nothing else, it would reflect the beast's servitude, something Meta Knight could not simply overlook. It would remind him of his past, and perhaps it may have a negative effect on his battle concentration. One small cuff wrapped its way around each foot.

That left the face, wings and tail. N.M.E. had intended to make this creature superior, and that meant superior to Meta Knight. He decided to start with the face. It was easy to carve two eyes and a mouth, but N.M.E. wanted it to be intimidating. After some deliberation, he mirrored the unmasked face of Meta Knight. Seeing a face so similar to his own would surely paralyze the warrior from fear.

The tail was simple to make. It was a conical structure, but thin enough to move freely. N.M.E. painstakingly made scale after scale, attaching them one by one to his little demon. At first they were small, but then they moved up in size. One might say they "es-scale-ated."

The sharp tail made a weapon all its own, and now the next step was to create wings. They had to be able to work around the tail, and lightweight. All that came to N.M.E.'s mind were Meta Knight's bat wings. While tempted, he could not copy the design.

He made a simple pair of orbs. Then he mangled them, crushing them equally in his fists. They looked like bat wings, but they were more three dimensional.

This gave N.M.E. a terrifying idea. He sliced each set of wings in half, and flattened them into bat wings. Now the creature could have four wings, closer to an insect. It would be both more agile and decidedly terrifying.

He attached them carefully, his beast complete. He smiled malevolently at the small demon, prepared to inflict the final strike that would bestow life to this creature.

But he didn't, quite yet. There was still the color issue to be sorted out. A cyan beast didn't look nearly as menacing as he would have liked. In fact, it looked kind of like a star warrior, minus the wings and tail.

Maybe he would get rid of the tail? He was having second thoughts, and if he wanted to change anything, he had to do it now.

He chose to make its legs a little taller, for the intimidation factor. He felt much better, and shocked the color for the last time.

It didn't even hold in place for a second. N.M.E.'s eyes widened behind his sunglasses, fearful of this creature. If it resisted him like this now, that could only assure N.M.E. of further problems in the future.

He brought his fist down to smash the creature away, but suddenly, the fabric of space twitched. His body jerked as if he were having a small seizure. Instead of hitting the creature, he slammed off the side of the chessboard, and destroyed the black king piece, which was just hovering with the others below the board.

The resulting energy spiraled upward, drawn inexplicably to the first inanimate object it could find.

The little cyan warrior came to life, looking at N.M.E. with purple eyes, the eyes of a child. The body was still cyan, except the wings and cuffs, which had become dark grey. There were two small, light pink blush marks, and the feet were only slightly darker than the body.

N.M.E. was stunned. This had never happened in all of his years. What had caused that seizure? Why was this creature alive at all? He would have cursed, but he found his mouth dry. His first words would affect the demon deeply. For this reason, N.M.E. always told the demon beast its name.

But this time, he would deviate. If he wanted this thing loyal, he would not be taking any chances. It was messed up enough. His anger was plainly evident in his tone, as he spoke the first word this little puff ball so like Meta Knight would hear.

"Nightmare."


	2. Indigo Strike

Meta Knight had been unable to teach Kirby much lately. Both were riddled with injuries and stuck in Dr. Yabui's office after fighting N.M.E. and his fortress of doom.

Meta Knight and Kirby healed fast, but this wasn't exactly going to be an instant recovery. Sword and Blade nearly camped out at the hospital, while Tiff and Tuff were determined to bring Kirby every bit of candy the newly rebuilt Cappy town still had to offer. Meta Knight dipped into that reserve secretly, but only when everyone else was asleep. His near addiction to sugar was not something befitting of a heartless demon, or a star warrior.

Sword and Blade knew, of course, but on principle Meta Knight refused to eat around them.

Tonight, he was going to be nabbing a few more treats from Kirby. The little star warrior loved food, but had a slight distaste for cherry candy. This was what Meta Knight would pilfer.

The old warrior flipped his legs from the side of the bed, holding his head in pain. Though his new mask and armor looked the same as ever, his body screeched with protest at every move. He was bruised in every conceivable spot, scarred in several sensitive regions, limbs were broken or scabbing or simply just wrong. He'd had his shoulder set twice because it kept popping out of place, a long term consequence of holding his sword incorrectly for so long.

He tiptoed across the room, again on principle. It would not matter if he stormed across the office, but he always felt like a child when he snatched sweets. He reached Kirby's pile of treats and quickly dove into the licorice, something that he could easily enjoy under his mask throughout the day.

Something stopped him, however. As he held the red rope of candy, a sudden spasm wracked Meta Knight. He dropped the bag of it onto a tin of rice balls from Kawasaki.

Kirby shifted a little in his sleep. The little star warrior's eyes popped open ever so slightly. He too was beginning to shake.

Meta Knight ran to his bed, stuffing the licorice under the pillow. It would have to do. He held his head gingerly, trying to keep the mask from shaking and hitting his pauldrons, both of which he had refused point-blank to take off.

He shut his amber eyes, and calmed the involuntary shudders. Kirby stopped moving as well and settled back to sleep.

Meta Knight tried to come up with some reason why the shudder had occurred. If Kirby had felt it, it might be related to their occupation as star warriors.

Or worse, their origin as demon beasts.

As much as he loathed to admit it, Kirby was a demon beast too. N.M.E. was clearly not Kirby's maker, but Kirby had all the traits a demon beast displayed. Unnatural creation, strange abilities, surprising sentient capabilities and an attraction to flight power. He wasn't sure how Kirby had come into being, but he didn't want to know. That deity would likely be much stronger than N.M.E.

It would probably never show itself. This speculation was utterly pointless and Meta Knight was not going to indulge in his little fantasy any longer.

He closed his eyes and began to drift into restless slumber.

"How wonderful to see you again," spoke a chilling voice; a voice the old knight knew far too well.

"I cannot say the same," spoke Meta Knight in his dream. He had these dreams very rarely, usually because N.M.E. couldn't be bothered to hold them.

"Look around you," crooned N.M.E. "Tell me what you see."

Meta Knight gazed, beginning to fix his eyes on the details of the dream. There was a cerulean sky, and little blue rain drops fell, hitting the ground without a sound. It was rather peaceful. Nothing could be seen in the distance. N.M.E. was not visible.

Meta Knight was standing on an island surrounded by pools of rain water. It reflected his mask, showing his amber eyes and his indigo cape. Galaxia was not with him, but it never was in his dreams. He saw the emperor of darkness standing behind him.

He turned around but could not see N.M.E. The creature was only visible as a reflection. But of what? Meta Knight pondered this briefly. He found his answer instantly, then he paled slightly. He shook his head ever so slightly and spoke aloud, not looking at the pools of water.

"Happy? If you do not mind, I would like to be getting some sleep. Go terrorize some other fool." Meta Knight yawned, trying to appear disinterested. N.M.E. saw right through his bravery.

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" he began. Meta Knight refused to react, but having his darkest and only real fear touched was never pleasant. N.M.E. was going to steal his mask, which by extension, meant that he was stealing Meta Knight's soul.

"Your mask looks rather tight. Shall I pop it off for you?" N.M.E. waved his hands in a circle, pinching his thumb and index finger. The strap around the mask began to shrink, cutting off Meta Knight's circulation and breathing. Meta Knight wrenched the strap off, but held the metal to his face, strategically avoiding responding to N.M.E.'s cackle.

"And that cape looks rather awkward. Best if I borrow that, no?" N.M.E. brought a gust of wind down, and against the laws of physics it blew Meta Knight's cape away, carrying his pauldrons with it. Meta Knight shivered from the exposure. His long wings extended, now uncovered, and they wrapped around his body. He felt only slightly better.

"If you think stripping me is the way to earn my loyalty, you need a day job," Meta Knight calmly retorted.

"Demon beast," bellowed N.M.E., "I do not need you! I do not want you! You are not worth your weight in horse excrement!"

Meta Knight's eyes widened in slight surprise. He began to question N.M.E.'s motives. They certainly weren't going to be pleasant, and judging from his less than stellar vocabulary, there was something far more sinister on N.M.E.'s mind.

"What has your cape in a twist?" said Meta Knight slowly.

"I've got someone I'd like you to meet. But you are not ready to meet him."

"Ready? For what, I wonder."

"You'll be fighting. And I'd like to give each side a sporting chance. No armor, no weapons."

"And what if I decline this brawl?"

"You won't. You won't be able to."

Meta Knight felt internally for the piece of his conscious that connected his soul to his thoughts. That little spot would wake him from slumber, if he could find it and focus on it. N.M.E. was aware of this, however, and he took advantage of Meta Knight's inaction by swiftly stealing his mask.

Meta Knight barely felt the metal slip away from him, but he was aware of his nakedness. His gloves, boots, everything seemed to be missing when the mask was. Walking became harder as he was now dramatically off balance.

Meta Knight was stronger than this, he had to be. Something had changed, N.M.E. clearly behind it. Never before had the emperor of darkness tried to rob Meta Knight of his masculinity. He took a minute before realizing the source of his issues.

He was growing shorter. His muscles were shrinking and his entire body became disproportionate. He had to put all four of his limbs on the ground, like a dog. Like a demon beast. N.M.E. cackled again.

"Widdle bitty Meta Knight. Does widdle Mety kins need his momma?"

Meta Knight gave N.M.E. a sharp glare, unable to speak his truly diabolical thoughts. His mouth no longer reacted properly to his commands. The knight reverted to the infant language of his race, Poyoan.

"Poyo!" he screeched.

"No matter. You'll be able to fight equally now. And I'm not letting you wake up until you do."

Meta Knight could still think. He held on to his thoughts, his vague hope of outsmarting the shadow. He needed to control his thoughts, discipline his mind, but they ran everywhere all at once. He found that he couldn't concentrate and his hold on reality was completely gone.

N.M.E. picked up the small Meta Knight and roughly tossed him a far distance into a coliseum, where many beasts looked on to the humiliated warrior-child. All that remained of his old self were two little demon wings, useless for flight. One hooked claw rested atop each one. It was his going to be his only method of defense.

At least he could cover his face with the remaining part of the wings.

"The proud, arrogant, once-valiant, Meta Knight!" howled N.M.E., dripping with sarcasm. The gathered beasts hooted and booed, and several cries of "traitor!" could be heard.

"And the all-powerful, supremely genius, extremely perfect Cascade Knight!"

A little, blue toddler was placed in the arena alongside the tiny Meta Knight. Biologically, they were the same age, but this creature didn't seem to be capable of much thought. It was very similar to Meta Knight, having the same body style. The only key differences that bothered Meta Knight were the tail and arm scythes. So much for no weapons. It had more wings, but they had no claws, so Meta Knight disregarded them completely as he sized up the opponent.

Then he noticed the face of the little demon. It was his face, but also looked like Kirby's. Meta Knight had difficulty trying to move and plan a battle strategy, and not simply because of his physical state. Meeting another of his race was always difficult, because it was like looking into a mirror without a mask. Nothing could be hidden from watching eyes.

"Fight!" cried the entire stadium as one. A bell sounded, indication that it was time to battle it out for supremacy.

Meta Knight would just have to dispatch of this thing. He didn't have much personal skill to rely on right now and N.M.E.'s influence held him firmly in this dream, this hideous nightmare.

The little warrior charged as best as he could at the newcomer. Meta Knight swept upward with his claw, trying to swipe at the other knight. Cascade, according to N.M.E.

Cascade fell back, unscathed. Meta Knight charged again, using both wings to cut in a downward motion. Somehow this translated into something like a sword beam, but it was very weak and only felt like a gust of wind. Cascade giggled as it touched him. N.M.E. looked on in fury at his pathetic creature, and decided to do some possessing. He waved a finger at the giggling Cascade Knight.

Meta Knight ran closer, but stumbled over his small feet, and he heard tumults of laughter. Cascade Knight came closer, now under N.M.E.'s influence. Its violet eyes turned dark red.

"Po-poyo!" came the child's war cry. Meta Knight responded in kind, hoping to get the kid to understand what was happening.

"Poyo-poy! Po poya popoyo." It went something along the lines of: Stop that! You are being influenced.

The little creature disregarded Meta Knight, and brought down both arm scythes with a sickening shriek. It pulled away from Meta Knight at the last second, as though it had been stung. A few drops of red liquid poured from its body. N.M.E. seethed, noticing that the demon wings had accidentally defended the old warrior.

Meta Knight saw this too, but as he went to stand up and attack again, he was restrained by N.M.E. Though he struggled, he could not find a way to move. N.M.E. was probably using his power to hold the knight in place.

Cascade rushed forward with another war cry, sweeping broadly with his tail. Meta Knight was thrown across the field of battle and into a rock wall. His head began to bleed.

The cheers came full force. Coupled with the injury, stress and real life injuries, Meta Knight felt full to bursting. If he did just one more thing he would very likely explode.

N.M.E. lifted his influence, giving Meta Knight a chance at combat. The warrior didn't think twice, and immediately dove into his darker powers. He didn't use them if he could avoid it, but he was in dire need. A furious N.M.E. and a coliseum of demon beasts couldn't be taken down with two tiny claws.

Meta Knight's eyes burned dark red, a malicious color he rarely saw. This wasn't his usual battle color, this was the color of dark matter under his oppression. Deep inside his body, Meta Knight contained several sparks of dark matter. The dark substance he'd kept locked away for so long was now snaking its way out to the sky, to the shock of many beasts and the elation of N.M.E.

N.M.E. cackled from afar. Now, things would become interesting.

Meta Knight threw his hand forward. The small pool of maroon goo surged forward into Cascade. The knight pulsed and shook as red electricity bounced from him. Its cyan skin changed color, and developed as indigo while the sparkling intensified. The sparks settled and the knight was cyan again. It howled in pain and terror.

Meta Knight continued to release the raw energy, and using it, began to disrupt the well-crafted illusion upon him. He aged quickly and a make-shift mask began to appear on his head.

The dark matter within N.M.E. began howling out, trying to join the matter contained within the field. Very few things could lure dark matter from Nightmare. Dark matter worked like reactive elements; one that was more reactive would steal the matter of another. Meta Knight, being very similar to N.M.E., was probably the only creature still alive that could draw all of the dark matter in an area.

N.M.E. realized that the knight was in danger of ruining the stadium and all of the monsters in it. Matter from their bodies was already supplementing Meta Knight's supply. The beasts reared back in pain as red matter flew from them. The weaker ones collapsed on themselves and died.

He dropped whatever remained of Meta Knight's aging illusion and began channeling his energy into powering Cascade into a fierce warrior. Electricity flew across the battle grounds to the enjoyment of all parties present. No more matter was coming from the beasts, who were thrilled that they still existed.

Meta Knight could not help but feel the same primal elation. He had been made to hold dark matter and use it, as well as other things, and fulfilling his purpose gave him an extreme, internal sense of pride. Plus, he was starting to revert to his normal size.

As he dove to hit the cyan warrior a final time, it dodged. Cascade began aging rapidly too.

"Go! Go! Fight! Win!" The various cheers and shrieks that filled the coliseum were beginning to grate upon Meta Knight's ears. The smell of blood from his head and the metallic tang of dark matter in the air were not helping.

"Go! Fight! Meta!"

Meta? Who was shrieking his name?

"Meta! Fight!"

Meta fight? Did the voice mean Meta Knight? He began to sort through his memory, though with Cascade up and running again, Meta Knight couldn't concentrate.

"Meta Knight!"

The coliseum gave the impression of melting in Meta Knight's vision, as Cascade ran forward with a wild charge.

"Meta Knight! Come on! What's wrong with you?"

This voice was different. But coupled with the first voice, Meta Knight could identify the ones seeking him. It was Tiff and Tuff, the cabinet minister's children.

The dream turned black, with only Cascade and himself left in it. Cascade knight was beginning to fade and blur, as he came up to the old warrior with a slashing motion. His weird arm scythes tried to drive themselves into Meta Knight, but they came up short.

Meta Knight suddenly opened his eyes in the hospital, away from harm.


	3. Blue Warrior

"Metaaa-" began Tuff, before realizing the warrior was awake. His head was coated in red.

"Goodnesh me, what happened to you?" came a worried Dr. Yabui. His lisp made it difficult for the newly awakened Meta Knight to hear clearly at first, but the warrior sorted it out after a few seconds. He'd been in that horrid nightmare.

"Bad dream, I suppose," came the quiet, smooth voice of Meta Knight.

"How can you exshplain that gash then?"

Meta Knight felt his head, where he has slammed into the wall of the coliseum. It came away dark red. His eyes reflected the color so quickly that only he and Tiff seemed to notice.

"Hm. I fell out of bed earlier, but I did not notice this. No matter, I am sure you can bandage it," came a slightly irritable Meta Knight.

"Well, it sheems to be under your mashk."

Meta Knight paled slightly, but nobody could see it. He was not going through that ordeal again. He'd let it bleed rather than expose his face to harsh reality.

"I shall just let it heal naturally."

Dr. Yabui began to protest, but Tiff was quicker.

"Meta Knight! You're injured! Just let Dr. Yabui fix your head! Don't be stupid." her voice made the knight's ears ring.

"I have never 'been stupid'," Meta Knight responded, rising from the bed. He felt the injury overtake him and he felt woozy, but he was determined to get away. He'd handled much worse in the heat of battle.

Sword and Blade had dealt with this kind of problem before, they were more suited to helping the knight when he had head trauma.

"Where are you going?" Tuff asked.

"Castle Dedede. I want to get my things. There's something I have to... Take care of."

"Not like thish, you'll pash out from blood losh!"

"Well then, that is not your problem." the knight stood, pushing his onlookers gently aside. He was already in a foul mood; he didn't want them interfering anymore.

Tiff caught his manner and looked askance at him.

"If you're set on leaving the hospital, I'll follow you. Someone has to bring you out of your lunacy. I'm bringing you back to the hospital when you pass out. Tuff, you stay with Kirby, ok?"

"Uh... Ok, sis."

"Are you sure you want to go out like thish?" Dr. Yabui inquired a final time. For any other patient, he would have refused to let him go. Meta Knight was good with a weapon however, and Yabui didn't want any injuries caused by his persistence."I shertainly do not approve."

Meta Knight didn't grace him with a response. He simply waltzed from the office, patting a sleeping Kirby gently on the head on his way out. He settled his mask and Tiff followed a short distance behind.

"How did that really happen?" Tiff mentioned once they were out of earshot.

"It is... Complicated," Meta Knight said under his breath.

Tiff knew better than to go on, but her curiosity was exploding internally.

"Well, who did that? Can you explain that?"

"Not very well," Meta Knight said quickly, increasing his pace. Drops of red rained upon the ground.

"You need to walk slower or you won't make it to the castle. Why are you going there, Meta Knight?"

"Like I said before, I have to take care of something."

"What is that?"

"It is..." Meta Knight began; hoping Tiff could finish his sentence.

"Complicated, I know..."

Meta Knight would have smiled if he was a young and innocent as Kirby, but he couldn't find the motivation to even smirk. He simply walked on, a little more slowly.

"There is something I can tell you," he said, his voice and steps grinding to a halt.

"What is that, Meta Knight?"

"I have to visit an old... Acquaintance." acquaintance was hardly the word to describe N.M.E. but that dream had piqued his curiosity, and with this new threat, Cascade, there was no reason to let things simmer as they were.

There was another reason he had to go back to N.M.E., but he was not divulging that even to Sword and Blade.

"Can you tell me who that is?"

"No."

"Are you telling Sword and Blade? There's not much other reason you'd come to the castle, now that the demon beasts are gone."

"A very astute observation. Yes."

Tiff smiled, but stopped walking. They had not reached the castle yet, so Meta Knight turned to question her.

"If you can tell them, why can't you tell me?"

"You will make some assumptions. And there are other factors. I fear they will put Dreamland in danger."

"Assumptions? Danger? You can't leave me in the dark if it really is dangerous!"

"I can. And I will. And if your curiosity cannot contain itself, suffice it to say that they will find the words to explain it to you, _after_ I leave." Meta Knight oddly emphasized the word after, as though it were something truly final.

She gave a cry of frustration, racing after Meta Knight. He chuckled. Seeing her like this was slightly amusing.

She began to pester him further, but he answered very vaguely and with short words, until she gave up in exasperation.

In no time at all, they had reached the castle. Meta Knight had regrettably served king Dedede here for years, but with N.M.E. gone he had no reason to remain here other than for a place to live.

But the thing was, N.M.E. had been killed. He was destroyed by the light of the star rod. Meta Knight hadn't considered that fact when he had been dreaming, but it was free to consider in broad daylight.

Meta Knight knew three things about N.M.E. for certain. The first, that N.M.E. was once his master. The second, that N.M.E. had been angered by his betrayal. The third was that N.M.E. had been brutally injured by Kirby and the star rod. It should have been enough to dispel N.M.E.'s physical form.

Meta Knight also understood, to some degree, how N.M.E. had come into being.

N.M.E. was formed from a combination of all of the hatred in the world. Each individual's hatred would combine to form very small energy-spheres, or dark matter, that would appear in a pocket dimension. Each individual, even for the vilest creature, could only amount to the size of a pixel. This dark matter would combine into large bodies, sometimes enough to overtake entire biospheres.

The portal in N.M.E.'s body was the only window between the real dimension that all sentient beings reside in and the pocket dimension of dark matter.

In the real world, dark matter would choose any creature and overtake it, turning it into a demon beast. The primal, malevolent rage that the dark matter channel can theoretically combine into an even greater energy sphere, so to speak. This would be different from the dark matter; it would be an entire soul, with real thoughts and aspirations. As Meta Knight called it, the anti-soul.

N.M.E. had once been a wizard, and he had learned how to open the portal to control the dark matter. He made himself nearly indestructible and immortal because of this. Perhaps he had placed so much dark matter within himself that he was the anti-soul. He might just also have been someone who happened to have too much free time and resources.

N.M.E. influenced lots of dark matter as well. If N.M.E. ever died, the dark matter that now relied on him to possess creatures and form demon beasts would wish for him to return. N.M.E.'s dead body could be transferred minuscule piece by minuscule piece by the dark matter he once controlled to the pocket dimension, where ultra-powerful and concentrated dark matter could reconstruct and revive him physically.

As a safeguard should he ever be killed, N.M.E. had also ingrained his consciousness into almost every dark matter piece he came in contact with. They could all revive his psychological being; his thoughts, inner dreams and ambitions.

Likely, the source of Meta Knight's dream had been because of this. Meta Knight had not imagined this strange imitation of himself, Cascade, he'd lived too long to mistake dream manipulation for mental creativity. N.M.E.'s revived psychological being had made the beast up and projected it in Meta Knight's dream for a specific reason; the logistics of dream manipulation were quite literally astronomical.

Perhaps N.M.E. really did want him gone.

Meta Knight set aside his conjecture to ask Tiff to leave.

"I am going to my chambers. Why don't you go check on Kirby?"

Tiff took his plea and nodded, setting off the way she came. Meta Knight walked through the gaping fountain to the underground section of the castle that was already rebuilt; this was the previous location of the halberd.

The halberd was long gone but the place was still a functioning bomb shelter. The Cappies had lived here after the battle, before the town was fully rebuilt. All of the Waddle Dees lived there now, and the "royal guard" headquarters was located there. Dedede had ordered that his and Escargoon's lair be fixed before anything else, but the rest of the castle was in shambles. Waddle Dees hustled from point a to point b, including the one-eyed Waddle Doo.

It was this figure that Meta Knight spoke to. The poor creature was running and sweating, or given the percent of his body that was taken up by his eye, crying.

"Hello, Waddle Doo. Have you seen Sword and Blade? I must speak to my knaves immediately."

Waddle Doo was immersed in some kind of task. It appeared to be cutting stone with a laser beam.

"Sorry, Meta Knight. I haven't noticed them here. Maybe they went to the hospital?" Waddle Doo turned to barely notice the knight, but when he caught the red flecks, he focused and cried out in alarm.

"Your head! You've gotta get to Dr. Yabui's!"

"Do not fret, Waddle Doo. I intend to have Sword and Blade assist in my recovery."

Waddle Doo didn't speak. Meta Knight was not one to obey orders, and Waddle Doo's would definitely go ignored, even if they concerned the knight's well-being.

"I'll ask some of the Waddle Dees. We'll get them here in a jiffy."

Waddle Doo went off to speak with the Waddle Dees. Meta Knight didn't bother waiting for him to finish, and he trudged upstairs to the courtyard. He then walked through the partially fixed hallway and into the galley. Nobody was inside it.

"Just a tiny piece. Just one."

Meta Knight was biting the inside of his cheek in starvation. He had forgotten breakfast in favor of medical assistance and he was now starving. He broke into a box of graham crackers, then into peanut butter and finally a bobble, a ripe blue fruit native to Dreamland. He slathered the cracker in peanut butter, and devoured the resulting sandwich whole.

The bobble was left untouched for a few minutes. It was so similar to Meta Knight in color and shape. That drew his attention to Cascade again. The fierce, cyan creature was young. He still didn't know if it had a will of its own. If it did, he would know it was a real creature. If it didn't, then he would know that it was all in his head.

Not wanting to linger any longer on his new enemy, Meta Knight gobbled the fruit in three bites. His loud chewing attracted a quick glance from a passing Waddle Dee.

The Dee leapt up and ran to the knight, tugging at his cape and pointing out the door. Sword and Blade looked through the door frame seconds later.

"Sor, ay it's Meta Knight!" Blade's thick accent and mask caused him to mangle his speech. Sword did the rest of the talking.

"Meta Knight! You're hurt! It should have been us!" he rushed at the old warrior, who held up a hand in self-defense. Blade nearly tossed the Waddle Dee out the door to the kitchen as he examined the wound.

"Sor, it looks there like it's under 'is helm't."

"That would be correct. I can let it heal naturally but it is beginning to cloud my vision. Sword, Blade, if you could close the door and bandage it that would be extremely helpful."

The knaves nearly fell over attempting to help the knight.

"Sir, how did you get this injury?" Sword said, grabbing a first aid kit from the pantry as Blade shut the door. The kit was made for burns and cuts, so it held plenty of gauze and ointments. Sword took some gauze and Neosporin, awaiting the knight's answer.

"What I say will disturb you both. Are you prepared?"

Sword gave a nod. Blade decided to sit against the door before responding with a nod of his own.

"N.M.E. is conscious again. He inflicted a dream upon me last night. As you know, it has been two weeks since we destroyed his lair. I fear that there is more hate in the world than ever before. He is already back, and strong enough to create demon beasts."

Sword gasped, causing her helmet to rattle. Blade didn't speak.

"He will not be fully prepared to defend himself against an onslaught. I'm hardly in the condition to fight him, as is Kirby."

Blade ventured a reply. "So... Do you want us to go and beat the weakened N.M.E.?"

Meta Knight's eyes turned green in shock. "By the stars, no!" the knaves fell back a little.

Meta Knight regained his composure quickly. "My apologies. You two are not able to handle this alone." They were silent, but he could tell they were thinking a few rebellious thoughts. They never liked being called incapable.

"Sir, if 'ts ol' roight, are we gon' jus' all go?" Blade stuttered.

"I intend on going. N.M.E. has additional weaknesses in this state. I am the only one, besides Kirby, who knows how to and can exploit them. Taking anyone else is impossible." They looked slightly offended. Sword pressed on.

"How is that?" Sword began. "Are you coming through a dream?"

Meta Knight nodded. "You're catching on." Blade looked at Meta Knight in confusion.

"N.M.E. creates dreams, Blade. Synthetic dreams have lots of additional properties. Physical damage that occurs to you will transfer to the real world, including death. These dreams also link two conscious beings. If these beings have a spiritual connection, and they can inflict physical harm-"

"Then they must also have a physical connection, by default," finished Sword.

"Very good. It is possible to exploit this and travel to N.M.E.'s location through the dream."

"Sir, how are you going to get back?" Sword said.

Meta Knight did not speak for a long time. His eyes did not betray his thoughts.

"Sword, the bandages."

Sword nodded, averting her eyes. Meta Knight unstrapped his mask. Blade turned to face the door as Sword tenderly looked at Meta Knight. She took some antiseptic and cleaned the wound, which wasn't all that large, and she began to patch it. She tried desperately to look away from Meta Knight's eyes, but couldn't help it after a while. He frowned.

"Hurry up."

Sword finished as quickly as she could, fumbling to tie the last bandage in place. No sooner had she finished than Meta Knight pushed her away. He immediately returned his mask to its proper place.

"Thank you."

Sword nodded and the trio stood around awkwardly until a Waddle Dee knocked on the door. Blade opened it and the Dee came in to prepare lunch.

Meta Knight was reminded of his hunger, so he went to the pantry and grabbed another graham cracker. He made two more graham sandwiches before Blade and Sword decided to leave him in peace.

Now only the Waddle Dee was around to watch him. It had its back to the knight, and it was absorbed in slicing leeks for stew.

Meta Knight grabbed a long rod of taffy from the pantry. He instantly downed it, but suddenly a thought came to him.

"It's watching you."

Meta Knight paused. He looked at the Dee. Nothing was watching him.

"It heard you do that."

Meta Knight's eyes turned bright red, but he didn't cause it. A dark force was beginning to seep from its mental prison. The dark matter was anxious for battle once more.

"It will tell Waddle Doo."

Meta Knight shook again, like he had last night. The tremor darkened his face further, and his mask began rattling in place against his pauldrons. The Dee stopped chopping leeks for a second.

"Waddle Doo will tell the king."

Meta Knight felt the dark matter tighten its grip, trying to force him to do something he knew he would regret.

"The king will tell everyone."

Meta Knight drew Galaxia without realizing it. The sword sparked dangerously, first to assemble itself, then to help Meta Knight escape from this fit of lunacy. Energy pulsed from the blade, ricocheting up the knight's arm. The Waddle Dee turned around to stare at him.

"And then everyone will know your secret."

Galaxia screamed in his grip, begging him to stand down. Meta Knight held on to himself, preventing the dark matter from taking a very lethal step forward.

"Everyone will know what hides behind your mask."

Meta Knight shook more, and the Waddle Dee backed as far away as it could manage. It waved its hands in something resembling a scream of sheer terror.

"Meta Knight, the candy thief. The 'warrior' with the will and face of a child."

Meta Knight inwardly scoffed, he was capable of restraining himself more than the dark matter knew. He steeled his will as the Dee began to edge toward the door. His sword lowered a fraction of an inch. The tremors still made his hand move a little.

"It sees you for what you really are."

Meta Knight finally stopped shaking and broke into a sweat. The Dee stopped messing around and bolted for the kitchen door. The sudden movement caused the voice to intensify.

"Silence it!"

Meta Knight responded to the command, despite the dangerous amount of electricity Galaxia was sending through his own arm. The sword flew through the air, cutting the Waddle Dee below its eyes. It fell in two bloody pieces to the floor.

Meta Knight's eyes returned to normal and he noticed the Dee in the ground. But how had it been killed? How had this happened?

He dropped Galaxia with a start, feeling the energy surge at last. The sword spoke to him internally with its soothing voice.

"Meta Knight, you were possessed. I am sorry I could not stop you."

He picked up the Dee with slight distaste. The floor was filthy and bloodstained, as were his hands. The voice left one last word in his head.

"...weak."


	4. Turquoise Sea

Kirby frolicked in the sand, Tuff swam in the waves. Honey and Spikehead were building a sandcastle while Iroo sipped a cola. Not much had gone on in Dreamland since the terrible onslaught, and for now the children were enjoying psychological recuperation.

"Hey! Let's play Frisbee!" Spikehead said, kicking down the sandcastle. Honey gave a cry of shock, but turned to look at Spikehead and forgot her complaint with a blush.

Tuff rushed to play with Spikehead and Iroo. The little rag-tag group pulled a previously buried Frisbee from the sand and started to jovially toss it around the beach. Several times it flew into the water, but one child or another would pull it from the gentle waves.

Then a tune began to sound in the distance. It sounded like ringing bells and slide whistles.

"Hey guys!" came Iroo's voice. "What's that?"

"Let's go see," said Tuff with a curious tone. He ran off in the direction of the noise, the others in hot pursuit. Kirby swallowed the leftover toys so he wouldn't have to carry them and followed.

Every Cappy in town seemed to be gathering along the road. Travelers came down this road from the north and frequently the sheep would come to graze here. It was the place to go for solitude, before the battle. Now the grass was fairly young and weak, so it was more of an abandoned lot. Tiff had no sooner come upon the hill when she heard the music.

The bells were tolling very loudly here. Tiff squeezed her way through the crowd to get to whatever was causing the noise. Kirby dropped from her grip, running to the adjacent watermelon patch. He tried to eat an unripe one, and then promptly spot it out as Tiff squealed in surprise.

"Bonkers! Put me down!"

The purple ape was hugging Tiff. He decided to drop her and Tuff had to catch her. The ape was toting a large cart, which had a handle sticking out of it. As he spun it, bells would chime.

"Want... Start circus!" cried the monkey. Kirby giggled, shouting his trademark cry.

"Poyo!" Kirby came over and hugged bonkers, and the ape patted him on the head.

"Kirby… be in circus!"

Tiff shook her head. Meta Knight being weird was bad enough, but a circus was not welcome in her eyes. For one thing, she hated clowns. The incident with Phanphan had taught her that much.

Bonkers should have gone to live somewhere hospitable to gorillas, like the Bahabgahara jungle or at least deep Whispy woods.

"Bonkers, a circus is a lot of work. And Kirby isn't going to be a circus clown. Maybe you can open it in the jungle and practice with some of the other animals. That way you can train yourself to perform for others, like us Cappies!"

Bonkers tilted his head. Tiff must have spoken too fast for him. The villagers spoke right up, however.

"A circus in Dreamland? Think about the tourism! It's good for the economy," came the mayor.

"Maybe I'll sell popcorn in the stands," added chef Kawasaki hopefully.

Gus and Gengu spoke excitedly to one another. "We can make parade floats, Gengu. Maybe you can open a souvenir shop!"

"We'll need tight security for the circus," came a gruff Chief Bookem.

"We can all help you, Bonkers! A circus sounds like lots of fun for the kids," added Buttercup, the chief's wife.

Bonkers had a tiny tear at the corner of his eye, presumably out of happiness. Kirby and the villagers were all so excited for the circus. Tiff wasn't quite sure where she stood on the issue anymore. Everyone had good points, and Bonkers wasn't quite like ordinary animals. Now her earlier remark just seemed plain wrong.

"Who's going to be in the show, Bonkers?" Tiff asked quietly. Hopefully this might make the monkey reconsider his idea.

"Anyone can be in show," came the slow reply. Several Cappies began to raise their hands in excitement.

"I can read palms! Perhaps I may be in the show," Mabel shouted at bonkers. The ape nodded.

"My excavation site is cleared away. You can set up the circus there if you want to," Curio added. Tiff's eyes goggled.

"Mister Curio, how can we have an excavation in a circus?"

"We can put the stands over the important stuff so nothing happens. Besides, I've gotta learn to roll with the times like all you youngsters!"

Curio laughed as Tiff began to stomp her feet on the ground in frustration. A circus was not what Cappy town needed right now, not with the dangerous and unpredictable Meta Knight running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

But she couldn't communicate this to the villagers. They would make ridiculous assumptions about Meta Knight's sanity and probably have a mob scene. And without her help, she was certain that their little circus would fail. She didn't want to have to be the one to have to say, "I told you so." Who knows what bonkers would do after that. Probably tear down Cappy town or something.

Tiff only saw one good option, and she took it. She slipped out of the crowd and ran to Kabu Valley. Kirby looked back at her, then the meeting, then decided to follow her. She was too fast for him, but he wasn't in much hurry.

A butterfly crossed his path, and he went to touch it. It was bright blue and it began leading him down to the valley.

Tiff reached Kabu Valley in record time. The large totem greeted her quickly.

"Tiff. You come for answers. Kabu will help you."

"That's good. I'll get right to it. What is Meta Knight planning? Who is he visiting?"

Kabu waited. Then, his deep, foreign voice began to explain the situation. "Meta Knight is going to da other world."

The other world? What could that be? Tiff waited for the rest of Kabu's reply. None came.

"Who is Meta Knight visiting? And what's the other world?"

"Meta Knight wants to defeat a dangerous foe. It is the last remains of N.M.E."

"The one who runs Nightmare Enterprises? But Kirby killed him! What can Meta Knight be trying to do?"

"As long as there is evil, N.M.E. will return," said Kabu. Tiff gasped. "But there are ways in which he can come back more quickly."

"So… is Meta Knight trying to prevent N.M.E. from coming back too fast?"

"Meta Knight is trying to do that, yes. But he has other goals."

"Like what, Kabu? I need to know!"

"N.M.E. has a new demon beast. Meta Knight fears it will bring havoc on da Dreamland. But der is more."

"What is it, Kabu? What could be worse than more demon beasts? What is Meta Knight doing?"

Kabu was silent for so long, Tiff thought the totem wouldn't answer. She sighed and began to walk off, but the totem left three final words.

"Ask him yourself."

Tiff had never liked Kabu much anyway. The stupid totem was so vague and not much of a worthy source of information. Not like the books she so loved.

"There is someone coming to da valley. It is someone violent. If you do not hide, it will attack you." Tiff stopped, and raced towards Kabu. She opened her mouth to speak but she heard footsteps drawing near. She gasped and ran into Kabu's shelter.

She grabbed Kirby's warp star from the pedestal, and held it close to her. She wasn't sure why at first, but it gave her some comfort.

"You are not welcome here," spoke Kabu to the newcomer. A cold laugh came from outside.

"What are you gonna do about it, laser me to death? I know you aren't one of the Kabus powerful enough to do that." Kabus were capable of laser vision? Tiff held her hand to her face and let her mind wander until Kabu spoke again. Some of the rock wall shook and she paid strict attention to the exchange again.

"You are not welcome here." More cackling ensued.

The newcomer's voice vaguely reminded her of Knuckle Joe's. It was brash and confident, but a little rough around the edges. She knew it wasn't him, though, because it lacked the funny accent. It was like a voice that had been drained of its personality, but still held what must have been its original sting.

The voice began to ask Kabu something. "So, Kabu? Do you answer questions for strangers?"

Kabu didn't respond. Tiff glanced up over the window to see the visitor. She couldn't make much sense of him, because she didn't want to expose herself, but she could make out the round shape and bright blue color.

"Ah! If it isn't the romantic! The little flower of Dreamland herself. Tiffany. Charmed." The visitor bowed. Tiff wasn't sure whether she should hide or not, but curiosity got the better of her. She came up to draw in his appearance. He was a strange shade of blue. Almost cyan, but closer to dark turquoise. His body was wrapped in a thick purple cape, and he had violet eyes. They were hidden behind a dark grey mask, not unlike Meta Knight's.

What took her aback were the arm-claws and wings. They had a ravaged look about them, and they seemed to gravitate menacingly towards her, as though they would rip from the being's body to snatch her away at any second.

"You… don't try anything funny!" Tiff shouted at him. He was still a fair distance from Kabu. He only hooted with laughter.

"Me? I'm not gonna try anything funny!" He doubled over in sadistic roaring, "I'm gonna try something hilarious!" Tiff backed away, slowly, hoping that someone would show up and help her.

"What do you want from Kabu?"

"Everything!" shouted the visitor, suddenly very serious. These violent mood swings couldn't be healthy.

"What are you playing at?" she said, irritation becoming apparent in her voice. The figure swaggered over to her, very slowly, drinking her revulsion and impatience like fine wine.

He spoke to her, in a voice so smooth it made her even more scared. "I'm not playing around, girlie. I want his heart, medium rare."

She didn't move. He said it again. "I want his heart, his eyes, his body, his soul!" The odd creature fell over, shaking, writhing upon the ground.

Tiff screamed in horror as the creature's mouth foamed. Dark substances, cracking with electricity, began circling his head. He regained his composure but the trembling went on a while longer.

"So sorry about that. Not typical behavior, you see."

"Kirby! Meta-Knight! Someone! Anyone! HELP!" Tiff shouted. Nobody came.

The creature came closer. "You called?"

She ran into the sanctuary as he drew nearer. Before long, however, he couldn't step forward. He tried, but pain etched itself into his face. He resorted to crawling across the ground before he was simply thrown back from all of the force on his body. He was at least 5 yards from Kabu. He picked himself up and dusted himself off. He began speaking in lunacy again.

"WHERE IS HE?! YOU KNOW!" Tiff held her ears in her hands.

"Stop! I don't know who you are of what you're talking about!"

He grinned, then scowled. He gave a cry of distress, a cheer of pure happiness. Reality seemed to bend and warp as he inflicted a cascade of emotions upon her.

Suddenly he fell silent, fallen as though struck. He thankfully didn't move for many minutes. Tiff didn't drop her guard and was aware of how fast her young heart was beating.

"…Poyo?" Kirby said, walking into view. He saw the other creature, lying unconscious. He gave a sharp shriek.

"POYO POY!" He ran to the fallen one, trying to awaken it. Tiff's scream wasn't enough to warn the little puffball as the creature rose up in lunacy.

"RAGE BEAM!" He shouted, channeling its myriad of emotions into a pure black cloud. It gathered in his palm and instantly attached to his arm-blade. He swung the scythe, delivering the rage beam into Kirby's body.


	5. Green Spark

Meta Knight stood on the far tower, watching the villagers and Bonkers carry on with circus preparations. Tiff was notably not among them. If he knew her, she was off calculating the circus's odds of success or reading about famous circuses. Her mind was a glutton for knowledge and understanding; she refused to leave anything up to the imagination.

The scream said otherwise. The pulsing cry for help echoed from the walls of Kabu Valley, and Meta Knight had not missed it. It would take a good deal of time to get to its source.

He decided to fly. He hadn't flown in such a long time, and if the only other intelligent resident of Dreamland was in danger, he felt obligated to protect her. He would take too long if he walked.

He tore his cape off, unfurling his wings, testing them as though this were his first flight. He then threw them open with a cracking sound, jetting off toward the canyon at an incredible pace.

He sighed in the air, relishing the feel of air stripping his skin raw. The sheer speed of his flight would probably end up killing him someday. It was very cleansing, though slightly painful.

Suddenly he was losing altitude. His wings coiled and twisted in themselves. His body began to move, in the same blasted way that it had last night. At this rate, Meta Knight was going to collide with the dome shaped structure almost directly below- Kirby's residence.

The tremor continued, hopelessly tangling Meta Knight's wings and shaking his mask fiercely. Tiff screamed again and another voice joined in with a screech.

Meta Knight knew that voice from somewhere. Was it Knuckle Joe? Maybe. Meta Knight had more pressing matters at hand, namely, the ground.

Meta Knight grabbed his wings as he began to approach the ground. He forcibly lifted his arms, raising the wings up to catch air. Mercifully, he slowed, but he felt himself shoot back upwards in whiplash. His mask and pauldrons rang like bells. After a few seconds, the tremors had ceased, and Meta Knight allowed himself to glide to the nearby tree branch. Tokkori flew out the window of the house, searching for the source of the noise. Meta Knight retracted his wings too quickly, and felt minor pain for having rushed his muscles into such quick movement. He replaced his cape. Tokkori noticed him right after.

"Ya stupid creep! Get outta my lawn! I'm getting some beauty sleep, see! I don't need ya ringing up the place like it's all one big doorbell!" Tokkori flew about, trying to peck the knight's face.

He really wasn't in the mood for this. His wings were sore, Tiff was in trouble, Knuckle Joe was throwing a wrench in the whole thing and Tokkori didn't have a clue what the old warrior was thinking about doing just then.

In the blink of an eye, his fist shot up and wrapped itself around Tokkori's throat. Meta Knight's eyes flashed bright red. His fist tightened slowly, choking the bird, and causing its eyes to bulge. He soaked in the terror of the stupid sparrow. The dark matter thrashed about, coming from Meta Knight's head.

"Go ahead, Meta Knight," came the smooth voice of the dark matter. "Kill the pest. Everyone hates it anyway."

Galaxia tried to get in its two cents as well. "Do not fall prey to the temptation!" Meta Knight was sick of inanimate objects telling him what to do. However, the back of his mind began to wrangle the dark matter into submission; to its locked chamber in the deepest recesses of his heart. It had gotten everyone in enough trouble today.

"Why…?" Tokkori begged. He choked and wriggled before falling limp, passed out from lack of oxygen. Meta Knight's eyes still burned red for seconds longer. He let the bird fall from his grasp. If it was lucky, it would live.

He jumped skyward, flying off to save Tiff, from some unknown terror; which would probably amount to naught. Oh well. Such was his lot in life. A few, last sparks of dark matter flew off in the opposite direction. He'd have to deal with that later.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. Meta Knight arrived at the entrance to the canyon quickly enough, and he alighted in front of the canyon. He preferred to keep his wings a secret from those inside. He rushed across the valley; his powerful but short stride churning dust behind him.

"POYO POY!" came a shocked Kirby. Tiff screamed as well, and Meta Knight put on a final burst of speed; just in time to witness the creature's attack.

"RAGE BEAM!" it shouted in fury. A cloud of dark matter gathered on its palm, then flowing from its body in a movement that matched a sword beam. The matter slid through the air, racing towards the tiny pink toddler.

Time seemed to slow as Meta Knight witnessed the new attack. He'd never seen anything called a rage beam before, and the thought of it striking Kirby was not pleasant at all. He ran forward out of the shadows to deflect the blow, unsheathing Galaxia in a shower of sparks.

He wasn't fast enough.

Kirby fell, and time truly did cease movement. Kabu simply watched, Meta Knight stopped his own actions, and Tiff tried to move her mouth but found it was stuck in place. Cascade came forward, placing his attacking hand on the ground to balance himself. He chuckled.

This was not the same Cascade in the dream. This was a new Cascade; an older, unstable version. It sickened Meta Knight to the core.

"…poyo…"

The Poyoan coughed, the attack rearing its ugly head. Kirby began to cough wildly as blood poured from his body like a river of death. He coughed and sobbed at the same time, begging for help, first aid, Tiff, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Sir Ebrum, even Sirica would do. He just wanted the pain and the bad feelings to go away.

Meta Knight felt something in his heart break. Here was one of the only remaining survivors of his race, a mere child, injured for no real reason on a battlefield he had just entered. The blood bath didn't end quite yet though. Cascade had the audacity to run to Kirby, playing in the pool of his enemy's blood.

That was enough. Meta Knight ran over, to inflict the deepest and most crippling injury he could on the foul Cascade. He would mangle its throat, jab its wings until they didn't exist even as shreds, tear every organ from its forsaken body and throw it in every conceivable nasty place. Meta Knight would throw its mask and leg cuffs into the volcano for good measure.

The other knight was quick, but not quick enough. The knight drove Galaxia into its left wing, pinning it to the ground. Meta Knight threw his fist against this creature's head; over and over, inflicting injury after injury. No blood littered the ground from its body.

Tiff grabbed Kirby, and with a piece of her shirt tried to staunch the bleeding in vain. Kirby settled slowly into eternal slumber.

Cascade slipped away, tearing himself and his wings from Meta Knight, who struck the ground several times before noticing. The old knight immediately leapt up, throwing his sword forward, prepared to impale the younger knight through its mask at the vulnerable spot.

But he couldn't. A seizure, stronger than all of the other ones combined came, shattering all conceptions of space and throwing the knight backward, almost straight into Tiff. She was thankfully smart enough to dodge. Cascade was thrown aside too, into the Kabu's field of influence. Cascade screamed in pain, but couldn't move, and found that Kabu was driving itself into his mind. He screamed in lunacy, his plea for release falling upon deaf ears.

Kirby moved a different way. By some absolute miracle, the blood flowed back into his veins and the cut rearranged itself to several smaller cuts around his body. Some of the blood remained on the ground, and most of the cuts were bleeding, but his injury was no longer life threatening.

Kirby was alive. Meta Knight didn't pause long, dashing over the ground to Cascade's fallen form. He brought the thing closer to Kabu, hoping that more pain would cripple the demon forever.

A wicked, truly evil thought came to Meta Knight. He almost hated himself for it, but injuring Kirby to the point where he actually bled was something unforgivable. It took a lot to cut through a young Poyoan's skin; usually nothing short of a diamond tipped blade could tackle the job.

He stopped bringing the young knight to Kabu; instead throwing him off of the side of the cliff, into one of the canyon's deeper recesses.

Meta Knight would come back for it later. He would inflict more suffering on the malicious creature.

Tiff grabbed Kirby and ran; whether in desperation to get medical treatment or desperation to get away from Meta Knight, nobody knew.

"Tiff," said Meta Knight quickly. She stopped. "A copy ability."

She nodded, looking for something for Kirby to inhale. Meta Knight drove his sword against the ground, bringing several sparks to life. Kirby weakly tried to swallow one, but couldn't get it to close the distance. Tiff brought the Poyoan closer to the source of power as Meta Knight repeated the procedure. The spark landed in the warrior's mouth.

Whenever Kirby swallowed the copy ability, all of his fatigue and wounds disappeared. He leapt to life, wearing a green hat, which fired random globules of electricity skyward.

"Kirby. Take revenge," Meta Knight commanded. Tiff cried out in alarm but Kirby rushed to follow the command. He didn't know or comprehend what was truly being asked of him as he fired a shot of thunder into the canyon below.

Meta Knight's eyes glistened, taking on the same appearance as Kirby's sparks. "AGAIN!" he roared. "AGAIN!"

Kirby fired, and fired, while a speechless Tiff ran off in fear. When Kirby could fire no more, he dropped the copy ability, and looked at the old knight anxiously.

No affection met him. The knight responded with a curt grunt of disapproval. "Go home."

Kirby nodded, and tried to act tough, but he was beginning to grow nervous. What had just happened? It would take years to find an answer. Kirby ran after Tiff, in the hopes that she had understood.

Meta Knight, now alone, flew down the cliff to retrieve the hopefully lifeless body of Cascade.

It was missing.


	6. Golden Fabric

**This is the first chapter that contains a swear word. I'm looking for feedback on whether the swear used was tasteful or not. Please send me a PM or a review regarding this concept.**

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Tiff stopped at the castle, breathing heavily as her muscles screamed in protest. Everything had happened so fast. Where had the once peaceful and wise Meta Knight gone? What was that thing that had attacked Kirby? Why did they all move so strangely, as if having seizures? Tiff had no answer. She didn't want to see anyone, she just wanted to hide in her room and cry until things went back to normal.

She went to go do just that. She flew to her family's apartment. Dedede had been kind enough to allow them a spacious living quarters, though they truthfully did very little to benefit the king. Her father, Sir Ebrum paid the castle bills and handled basic tasks. Lady Like, or Lisa Ebrum, handled things on the diplomatic end. Dedede was capable of doing most of it, but he was just too lazy. The meeting with Princess Rona and Commander Vee also proved insightful with regards to their purpose at the castle. Tiff's parents had coordinated the banquet and festivities so that Dedede didn't have to.

She opened the door to her room and she flopped down over the bed in tears. Her mother looked up from the T.V. in the living area to see what could be the matter.

Lady Like walked into the room and put a comforting hand on Tiff's shoulder. "Vat is it, dear?" she said in her strange accent. The light tones calmed Tiff a little.

"It's complicated," she said, before realizing she used Meta Knight's words. She sobbed loudly into her pillow, pulling it up to hide her face.

Lady Like wasn't very involved with Tiff's life, so she could only take a wild guess at the problem her oldest child was facing. "Is it boy trouble?"

Tiff looked up with a scowl. Lady Like felt like she'd been stung. Her daughter was too smart and too young to get tangled in such messes. She scorned herself; now she sounded like an unsympathetic busybody, trying to pry gossip from her daughter. "I'm sorry dear, I vasn't thinking straight. Please vorgive me."

Tiff nodded something quickly, and the gesture gave Lady Like hope for redemption. Tiff continued sobbing for a few minutes as she rubbed her daughter's back. Lady Like let her get it all out now, so that they could talk one on one afterwards.

It didn't take too long for Tiff to compose herself enough to speak. Her voice wavered dangerously, about to either cross the threshold of tears or return to normalcy. "I'm just worried about a friend of mine. I shouldn't be so concerned."

"Vould you like to tell me about it, dear?" she began tentatively. Tiff shook her head.

"Mom… I appreciate you comforting me, but I just wouldn't feel right talking about it. It's kinda weird. I don't think many other girls have this kind of problem."

Lisa Ebrum raised an eyebrow gently. "Try me. Even if it veels awkvard-"

"IT'S NOT THAT!" Tiff screeched, pushing her mother away, running out the door to the apartment. Of course that wasn't the issue, thought Lady Like. Tiff loved literature and was very familiar with Cappy Biology. She hadn't really needed the talk. Bun on the other hand… well, at least he wasn't old enough yet.

* * *

Meta Knight had shown extreme clemency for not truly slaughtering Cascade on the spot. Now he was paying the price; the filthy scumbag had escaped to live another day.

"At least N.M.E. is doing a job with him," pondered Meta Knight aloud. If he knew the old emperor, he was scolding Cascade for failure. Likely, when Cascade came back again, he would be stronger and more emotionally stable. He'd heard some of the lovely episode from a distance. The old knight had fairly good ears.

Meta Knight was now sitting atop the tower, as he had been before the catastrophe. The circus tent had been erected in his absence, and it was rather interesting to look at from afar. The gold and red fabric stood proudly like the castle, but without towers. Meta Knight also enjoyed watching the ant-sized Cappies running from place to place with their tents and stalls. At this rate, there wouldn't be any Cappies in town to actually witness the circus. They'd all be performing in it.

But then again, the idiotic residents of Dreamland always surprised him. They may be stupid, but even they had their strokes of genius, and constructing buildings was one of them.

He looked the other direction; towards the beach. The waves fell upon the shore, a cascade of their own. He had to wonder why N.M.E. had chosen that name. Was it supposed to feel like a cascade of blows would rain down upon his enemies? Or was it something like a cascade of blood? Maybe it was a cascade of bitter memories. That made more sense than it seemed, Meta Knight feared the face of this enemy; because it was so similar to his own. It brought back memories of his life and servitude before Kirby came along.

Then he looked at Kirby's house. It rested atop a coastal cliff, which was washed and eroded by waves far below. The house looked pristine. Tokkori's body had moved from the lawn. He was probably still alive.

Good, at least Tokkori's disappearance couldn't attract suspicion. Had he gone missing, Dreamland would have noticed, and the question would eventually reach him. He wasn't a fan of playing dumb.

Not much remained for the old knight to do. At least, not until dusk came around. For now, Meta Knight could enjoy the waning hours of the day, and perhaps he would go see the circus. It was a slightly appealing prospect. It certainly had to be better than standing around on a boring old tower.

Meta Knight decided to go watch some of channel DDD. At least it got his mind off of reality.

* * *

Tuff and Spikehead were helping Bonkers lift the last girders. They really weren't of much help to the monkey, but Spikehead was glad to pretend that he was showing off for Honey. Tuff was planning to brag about how he built the circus himself, so he put all of his efforts into his work. Bonkers was really quiet about the whole thing. Other than a suggestion here or a question there, he didn't register a single opinion on the matter. Tiff would have questioned Bonkers' emotional capacity.

Iroo had been hopelessly trying to train Rick, the hamster, into doing a cartwheel. This was a rather ridiculous idea, considering how short the rodent's arms were, but he was determined to do something to join the circus. Coo had been the one to invite the other forest animals to the circus, after seeing the tent from the air. He had actually borrowed a camera to film the circus performance so that Whispy and Acore could see it.

Some of the Cappies had dressed up as clowns and were prepared to start their acts. They also helped get props and bleachers ready. Curio watched over the project, making sure nobody got too near the artifact retrieval site. He had a tent directly above it, and charged visitors two Deden to look at old, half-buried exhibits.

Mabel had set up a fortune telling tent just outside the circus. Along with Kawasaki's stand and Gengu's Arcade tent, there was an excellent midway in progress. Gus and Mayor Len had almost set up a real go-cart track, but decided against it because of the cost. They had put together a tiny go-cart that one had to propel by foot and had set up a dirt track. It also cost two Deden to ride. It was just big enough so that Kirby and the younger Cappies could ride on it.

* * *

Waddle Doo set the last stone in place for the day, to complete the construction of the walkway from Dedede's throne room to his bedroom. The king had only offered them breaks for sleep and lunch, but had thankfully given the Waddle Dees the rest of the day off, after they finished the job. Waddle Doo intended to take his workers to the circus that afternoon.

He sat down, exhausted from his work, to rest his eye. Since it made up such a large percentage of his body, it got tired very easily, and all of the stone cutting he'd done so far hadn't made life easier.

It was about four o' clock. The circus was supposed to start sometime around six thirty. Waddle Doo sighed, and fell into a peaceful sleep. One of the Dees would have to wake him up before the festivities started. A dream shaped in his mind as he slept.

"…Waddle Doo? Can… you hear… me?" came a disconnected, masculine voice. It frequently broke into pauses or static in the dream.

"Who are you? I can hear you… but I can't see you," shouted the captain of the guard. He searched through his dream, but even his eye couldn't catch any movement. He was standing in one of the fields of Dreamland. No bird song flew across the gentle breeze; no voices from the circus goers met his hearing.

"Have you… seen… the star warrior?"

Waddle Doo had seen both star warriors recently. Why was this voice asking?

"I've seen Kirby and Meta Knight around… why is that important?"

The voice chuckled smoothly. Waddle Doo started to gain a faint sense of familiarity. "I need to… find the knight… alive. Do you… know where he… is in… real life?"

Waddle Doo wasn't quite sure about the voice anymore. Finding Meta Knight, specifically alive, sounded like a vaguely sinister goal. The voice seemed to _want_ him to be dead, rather than the converse. "I'm sorry to say, I don't have a clue. Meta Knight doesn't go to his private chambers anymore, and he doesn't stay in the Halberd's docks. If you want to find him, you'll need to do some exploring."

The voice was silent for a second longer. Then it spoke, more clearly than it had before. "I need to find the… knight as soon as possible. Please… take me where I may… at least have a hope to meet… him again."

Waddle Doo could feel desperation behind the voice. He wanted to trust it, he really did… but every bone in his body began to warn him of something.

"Um… I really don't know who you are or why you want to find Meta Knight. If you could tell me some more about your meeting, then I-"

Waddle Doo was cut off by a roar of impatience. "I asked you nicely, _Waddle Dolt_. Tell me where the knight is or I'll come over there and wrest the answer from your lifeless, rotund body. Understand?"

A black figure began to appear over the horizon. It was short, with two legs and two arms, as well as something reddish sticking out from its head. Waddle Doo had some difficulty responding until the thing came closer, prowling like a jaguar on silent haunches.

"He's… he's… on the tower? No no… in the village? Kirby's house? Or… or… OR!" Waddle Doo ran as the back figure rushed forward, brandishing a katana. He finally jogged his memory upon seeing the sword. His nighttime visitor had been Yamikage, the shadow ninja.

Waddle Doo wasn't nearly as fast as Yamikage. He was tackled to the ground, and he had a broad sword stretched close to his throat. The ninja demanded an answer.

"You have ten seconds before you suffer the same fate as the Waddle Dee in the kitchen."

After a pause, Waddle doo paled. "You killed… Benny?"

"No. You'd be surprised. That was none other than your supreme protector, Meta Knight."

He couldn't believe it. One of the greatest star warriors couldn't have been behind killing the kitchen Dee. Waddle Doo squirmed in distress and indignation.

"You deny me? See for yourself." Yamikage held Waddle Doo upwards to face the sky. The clouds began to swirl and taunt Doo's stomach. He held back the urge to vomit as the clouds shifted colors to an unnatural green and magenta.

He saw Meta Knight's eyes glow red, his sword drawn, sparking with raw power. He nearly felt the pain of poor Benny as he was cleanly sliced in two. Yamikage spoke and the vision paused.

"He killed him. Do you deny it?"

Waddle Doo didn't want to believe it… but he felt that he had to. It looked so real. The vision resumed.

Meta Knight held the upper half of the Dee up to lock eyes with it, a hideously disrespectful notion. Waddle Doo couldn't hold down his outrage. Yamikage frowned in sympathy, holding Waddle Dee more gently.

When he tossed the Dee aside, like a carcass fit for hounds, Waddle Doo had had enough.

"I don't know where Meta Knight is… but if you find him…" Waddle Doo's eyes began to form tears of rage. "KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH! Slaughter him and his knaves until they won't bleed another drop! Rip every limb from their forsaken bodies!"

Yamikage chuckled. "I have other plans for those callous fools. Trust me, Waddle Doo, he will not go unpunished. N.M.E. will see to that."

Waddle Doo forgot his bravado at the mention of his old master. He and the Waddle Dees had been some of Nightmare's first creations. They were designed to be his servants; small and unnoticeable but skilled at their jobs. After a while, the lot had been sold to King Dedede and they'd lived with him ever since. Waddle Doo and the Dees had formed identities for themselves, and now only thought of themselves as servants rather than demon beasts. Waddle Doo was the only one who really remembered that fact anymore, and only because of his ability.

He leapt away from the ninja, and stood his ground. He was aware that he had just been manipulated.

"I… can't believe you!" Waddle Doo began. Yamikage rolled his eyes. "I'm not going back to work for him! I won't live any longer in that… Nightmare!"

Waddle Doo charged forward, shooting his laser beam into a mildly surprised Yamikage. The ninja leapt back, with his own attack.

A gust of wind blew Waddle Doo upward into the clouds. The ninja muttered several incantations, throwing Waddle Doo left and right in the air. The poor puffball would have vomited, if he had a mouth.

"Stop, Yamikage! Please!"

"Tell me! Where can I find the knight?"

Waddle Doo knew very few places the knight was likely to go, but there was one place that stood out in his mind. The knight avidly followed the antics of Tiff Ebrum and Tuff Ebrum, and the most likely place to find the children today was the circus. If they were there, and so was all of Cappy Town, then so would be Meta Knight.

"Tonight! At the circus! He might be there! Please, Yamikage! Please! Don't throw me around anymore!"

Yamikage stopped the incantations. The abused Waddle Doo fell from the air with a soft thump. He stood, dusting himself off before locking Yamikage's gaze.

"Good work. I'll see you tonight." Yamikage vanished from the dream.

Waddle Doo paused. "_What have I done_…" he cried, holding his face in his hands.


	7. Orange Fire

As the sun set over the horizon, casting a haze over Dreamland, the long-awaited circus began. Dedede had a throne of honor, but he had been terrorizing the midway for hours prior, and he fell asleep as the circus drums sounded. Tiff waited nervously, wiping some of the last bits of makeup off her hands. Bonkers had asked her to be make-up artist for the clowns earlier and she did everything she could to contribute to the act. It helped her get away from it all. A nervous Waddle Doo took up a seat on the opposite end of the bleachers. He and his men had all helped set the metallic stands up. Quiet murmurs and crashing shouts dominated everyone's ear drums.

Suddenly, he lights began to dim, quieting the crowd. Escargoon walked on stage, wearing an orange top hat and waving a baton.

"Welcome to Dedede's Dreamland circus!" Escargoon yelled to the crowd, putting on a jovial facade. Almost all of the Waddle Dees present waved their arms in excitement, with the exception of Waddle Doo. He could only give a feeble cheer and hope desperately that Meta Knight would show up. The assorted Cappies cheered far more enthusiastically. Bonkers clapped merrily, not comprehending the fact that Dedede had stolen the credit for his circus.

"Today there will be lots of merriment, but first, a friendly address from your ruler, King Dedede!" Escargoon gestured broadly, to the still sleeping Dedede. The king snored quietly. Escargoon hopped on his feet for a moment before resorting to plan B.

"Erm… thank you, King Dedede, for your kind words of wisdom. And now, for our first act, the curious clowns of Cappy Town! Sponsored by Dedede."

A cute platoon of Cappy children drove onstage in a tiny orange fire truck. Tuff was among them, dressed in a villain's costume. Tiff watched nervously from the side, hoping he'd managed to keep on his hat and wig. They concealed several magic tricks, and if it fell off the act would probably be ruined. Fortunately, all of the children were still in full costume as they emerged, and their little scene was quite humorous. Iroo, Tuff and Spikehead were all clamoring to scramble up a fireman's ladder, where Honey was perched atop it in a tiny box. Suddenly, the flaps of the box fell off, hitting some of the other Cappies to tumults of laughter, and revealing a miniature plane held up by fly cables.

The cables were pulled along by chief Bookem and chef Kawasaki in the background, who tugged Honey along through the tent. The crowds cheered and some of the mothers fainted as Honey soared through the air. The three other children stars ran forward to try and "catch" her, but they only managed to trip over themselves. Finally, another set of children arrived carrying a pogo stick, a fire extinguisher and a blanket. Spikehead grabbed the pogo stick as Tuff took the extinguisher. Iroo snuggled into the blanket and fell asleep.

The crowd laughed and laughed as the children displayed their antics. Tuff used several hidden matches and lights to create the effect that the fire extinguisher was spewing fire, which Spikehead bravely charged through. The plane dipped low into the mock flames, and Spikehead grabbed the wings. The cables were slowly lowered so that the two were now facing each other on the ground, and they blushed vibrantly. Iroo woke up and used his blanket to cover up Tuff, and the crowd cheered as the act drew to a close. They all bowed, Tuff especially giving a wild flourish.

A drumbeat sounded and ringmaster Escargoon returned to address the crowd. The lights went dim and the spotlight shone on him. The children flew offstage in a hurry.

"And now, cherished citizens, Mabel the Magician! Fortunes read, futures revealed! We'll need a brave volunteer from the audience!"

The lights returned to normal and Mabel appeared onstage, wearing an odd headdress and cloak. She walked slowly to a cloth covered table that had appeared during the intermission.

Kirby leapt up and down on the stands, shouting his trademark cry. Most of the other Cappies were drowned out by the sound of his screams. "Poyo! Po poyo! Poyo!"

Nobody noticed the black figure, poking his shoe with a needle under the bleachers. Kirby's cries of anguish were misinterpreted as excitement.

Escargoon gave a devilish grin, but he masked it quickly in innocence. "Kirby is our volunteer! Come on now, Kirby; get up front with us!" Kirby ran forward, forgetting his plight, and Tiff focused her attention on him. She was instantly suspicious of Escargoon, and of whatever had gotten into the pink Poyoan.

"And now, Mabel will proceed to look into Kirby's future, and then we'll see if her predictions come true!"

"Sit before me, Kirby," came Mabel's booming voice. Fog began to enter the floor of the circus.

"Poyo…" Kirby sat upon a stool, facing the crowd. "Poyo?" He shuddered.

"I will look into your future with the power of the spirits! Legend tells us that they are always watching over Cappies, and Dreamland as well. Let's see… KEKEKEKEKE!" The fog glowed for an instant as lights shone onto the stage. It was a mildly impressive special effects display, and it fooled the crowd. Sampson, the bartender, suddenly appeared in a crystal ball. Only his head was visible, a disembodied illusion. He was, in fact, just standing under the table.

"Oh… I see… watermelon eating!" The crowd giggled, but paused.

"Spirit! Where will Kirby be at the end of this hour?"

"The spirits think that Kirby will be at Sampson's, eating an ice cream sundae free of charge…"

Kirby leapt up with excitement, crying out in happiness. "Poyo yo!"

"But there is more!" cried the spirit. "Kirby will have to endure many trials before he gets his ice cream." The spirit vanished from the ball.

"Good heavens! We've lost the connection! A bad omen befalls you, Kirby!"

Kirby leapt up in fright, running stage left. No light illuminated the Poyoan and the snail lying in wait. Escargoon eagerly caught him and stuffed the Poyoan into a small cannon. He covered the entrance with a sneer. Escargoon walked back onstage, as all of the light, save his spotlight, dimmed.

"What a lovely performance! Let's see if the prediction comes true!" Escargoon snickered. The light returned and everyone noticed that the snail was dragging a cannon by a tiny string.

"And now, the world's only indoor fireworks display! Don't worry folks, it's perfectly harmless."

Tiff raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Where's Kirby?" she yelled to the snail.

He ignored her and lit the fuse. He removed the mortar cover, revealing the cannon's contents. Tiff wasn't fast enough to retrieve the poor Poyoan, so the cannon threw Kirby in a wide arc. He soared over the heads of the Cappies. Tiff rushed forward with a white, stretchy net, catching Kirby in it as he fell. He was blackened with soot, and his arm hung limply. He gave a weak cough.

"You can't do that to Kirby, Escargoon!" Tiff shouted. Her shrill voice awoke the king, who opened his eyes quickly.

"Hey! Did I say you were gonna be the one to clobbah that there Kirby?" He growled at Escargoon.

The snail winced and ran, as the king and Tiff chased him around the ring. Kirby giggled, as did the crowd, before Dedede got out his hammer and smacked the snail with it. He stole the top hat and baton in the process.

"Alright, y'all, its King Dedede's turn to be ringmaster! So, for our next act, we'll see animal taming, with none othah than me!"

Coo and Rick appeared onstage, in costume. Rick roared like a lion, stretching out his "claws" and shaking his "mane." Coo soared and dove left and right, hooting wildly, and lunging for Dedede. The crowd laughed as Rick ran over and bit Dedede's cape.

"Back, beasts! Back! Don't you day-uh mess with Dedede!" He wielded the hammer like a mace, using it to keep them away.

Tiff wiped Kirby clean and tried to set his arm, but Poyoan medicine was not her forte. She seemed to only make it worse, and Yabui was nowhere in sight. It turned an ugly shade of orange.

The king soon grew bored of his hammer, so he began using poor Escargoon to keep the creatures away. The snail squirmed and the audience roared, but none of this could stop the king as he whaled on the poor hamster. Rick ran offstage as Coo began to avenge him. Coo was knocked in the wing and he stopped flying, limping away with a pout.

Tiff looked on in indignation. "That's not animal taming," she cried," that's abuse!"

Dedede was unfazed. "You wanna be the one to hold up this stupid snail? You can have him!" The king tossed Escargoon across at Tiff, who barely sidestepped. The snail landed in a heap.

"Alright, now, it's time for some clobbahin'!" Dedede ran at the blackened Kirby, but was stopped as all of the lights suddenly turned off. Everyone stopped moving, especially Waddle Doo.

The crowd began to panic, but before they could break into cries of panic, a calm voice permeated through the chaos.

"I couldn't agree more."

Waddle Doo blanched. The lights returned, and with them appeared a black figure. His body was round, but thick, and his short arms wielded multiple weapons, the most threatening of which was a katana.

Yamikage was poised to kill.

Dedede could barely leap aside as the ninja rushed Kirby. Kirby forgot his condition and ran to dodge, but nothing could save him as the katana flew at him. Kirby tried to swallow but the sword curved in midair, striking his good arm. Poor Kirby yelled something incomprehensible and the on-looking Cappies ran away.

Everyone screamed as Yamikage moved to the tent flaps. He blocked their exit with his body and katana, and the crowd rushed the other direction.

"Do not move," commanded the ninja.

Most everyone fell silent, immobilized by his words.

"I come only for the pink one. Give him to me and all will be spared." As the crowd turned to the Poyoan, the ninja glanced at Waddle Doo. He hadn't moved from his seat, and if it was possible, he turned whiter. The ninja, although his eyes were hidden, scowled at him.

"You… you can't have Kirby, Yamikage!" Tiff held tightly to the weak Poyoan's body. Tuff arrived from backstage, and seeing the damage, he ran to Kirby.

He didn't get the chance. Yamikage was quicker, and he cut off the small boy with a slash. A large cut blazed from the side of his face, over his right eye. Tiff yelled and Tuff collapsed to the ground, writhing and crying, spreading his blood across the circus floor.

"Make the choice, girl. Your brother… or your savior."

He howled, and Tiff grabbed hold of her small friend. She tried to run to her brother while carrying Kirby, but Yamikage was faster yet again. He collided with her, hip-checking her aside. Kirby was dropped in the confusion. Tiff wheezed, reaching up to the ninja. The crowd was completely silent.

"Took you all long enough. At last, the pink one-" Yamikage was cut off midsentence as a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. A blue, caped and masked figure. The one and only Meta Knight.


End file.
